Chapter 165: Death Revival, Darkborn Trap (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Compared to other solutions, attribute feedback to reality incurs no additional Sacrificial Power expenditure.

It simply returns the portion of attributes belonging to the players to their real-world bodies at the cost of Sacrificial Power.

Reality auctions opened periodically in the name of the Eclipse Clan can also replace the game's pay-to-win events.

This plan is entirely feasible in theory.

However, implementing the scheme requires addressing a series of issues beforehand.

It requires the Eclipse Clan to cooperate in launching a life modification project, conducting external propaganda, and building a system capable of connecting player-body attributes to real-world bodies.

Qi Sheng had named this system in advance: the Attribute Return System.

But Chao Wei and Jiu Yin were currently attempting to construct and test the cultivation system architecture, leaving them no time to handle this system construction project.

At the current stage, the number of players was also relatively small, so this plan would have to be postponed.

Secondly, he had also considered the issue of real-world order.

Feeding attributes back to reality, thereby extending human lifespans and enhancing personal strength, created the possibility of disrupting security and order.

While Earth members spent the vast majority of their time in the virtual game, there were still individual players who spent longer periods active in reality.

The law's constraint on those active in reality lay in forcibly sanctioning illegal acts, but once players possessed strength surpassing the norm, they might easily evade legal punishment using their power, rendering the law's deterrent effect void.

For instance, a player with extremely high attribute feedback could instantly flee the scene after committing a crime, making it difficult for the police to pursue or even confront them.

Power surpassing the norm might cause some players to develop a sense of superiority, breeding thoughts like "I don't eat beef."

Believing themselves above ordinary people and no longer bound by conventional moral norms, they might thus engage in behaviors that disrupt order.

For the Player Legion to develop well, stability in real-world order was the cornerstone.

This was also one of the reasons he was unwilling to provide Soul Soul abilities.

With the blessing of attributes surpassing the norm, plus Soul Soul characteristics comparable to superpowers, some players might become lawless in reality.

For example, the stealth effect brought by the Twilight Shadow Soul Soul meant that once merged into the night, anything was possible, and it would not be easily detected.

Therefore, before perfecting this attribute feedback system, he needed the Eclipse Clan to cooperate in constructing a more stable real-world order, ensuring that players receiving attribute feedback always remained within a controllable scope.

But this notion was merely a precaution against future trouble.

As players increased their strength in the Monster World, they would naturally develop a resistance toward the real world.

Situations where they were unwilling to log off would arise.

This was also the reason why higher worlds held immense temptation for lower worlds.

The Lord of Bliss was unwilling to return to the bottom of the well; besides ambition, there was also the disparity brought by the environment.

Taking the spiritual plant cultivation bases in the real world as an example.

The cultivation bases, built with massive resources and technology, possessed spiritual energy quality and content far inferior to even the most barren regions of the Monster World, and vastly so.

A weed from the Monster World could be an incredibly precious spiritual plant if brought to Earth.

This disparity was particularly obvious when applied to individual players.

Many players, after staying in the Monster World for a long time, would experience a strong sense of disparity upon returning to reality.

To quote a certain player on the forum: "It feels like suddenly bearing a heavy shackle, unable to move freely; even breathing becomes strenuous."

Therefore, the issue of real-world order supervision only required keeping a close watch on specific groups.

The vast majority of players would still treat the game world as their primary area of activity.

[Boss, before the Attribute Return System is completed, how do you plan to handle that dead player?]

Zhi Yin suddenly spoke up to ask at this moment.

After a brief moment of thought, Qi Sheng reached out and grabbed, moving the consciousness cluster of the dead player from above the Sacrificial Power Pool to the palm of his hand:

"Resurrect him; he can continue creating value in the future."

Upon hearing this, Zhi Yin wasted no words and immediately consumed Sacrificial Power according to Qi Sheng's request.

Unlike the normal method of flesh and blood reshaping.

This veteran player's original body, meaning his real-world physique, was not connected to the Challenger System, so resurrection required consuming extra Sacrificial Power.

Secondly, the veteran player's consciousness had already scattered into fragments, also requiring the consumption of Sacrificial Power to reshape consciousness, piecing together the memory fragments drifting between heaven and earth.

Carrying out comprehensive consciousness and flesh-and-blood reshaping.

This was also the reason Qi Sheng was unwilling to give custom pets a resurrection function; it required consuming a far larger expenditure of Sacrificial Power, making this cost a complete waste.

Earth.

Inside the mourning hall.

The ice coffin stood silently, isolating the old man's body from the mortal world.

The painful and ferocious expression on the old man's Iron Face before death had been transformed into serenity by the undertaker, as if he were sleeping in a dream from which he could never wake.

The old man's relatives knelt in unison before the ice coffin, their grief surging like a breached flood, spreading wildly.

A thin woman collapsed onto the ice coffin, her hands gripping the edge tightly until her knuckles turned white; tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes, rolling down her cheeks and dripping onto the ice coffin, while suppressed sobs erupted from her throat, as if trying to vomit out all the sorrow in her heart.

"Dad, how could you leave us just like this... What about the days ahead..."

That voice sounded as if it had been repeatedly polished by sandpaper, already becoming hoarse.

Figures nearby were already sobbing uncontrollably; the eldest daughter lay prostrate on the ice coffin, her body trembling violently, her wails mournful and prolonged, her hands gently caressing the coffin as if trying to touch her father's body once more through that layer of cold.

"Dad, I haven't had the chance to properly fulfill my filial duties; how could you bear to leave us behind."

The youngest daughter huddled tightly beside her mother, tears soaking her clothes, crying until she was nearly fainting, repeatedly murmuring the words "Dad."

Her voice was weak yet full of reluctance to part.

Grandsons and granddaughters also knelt to the side; though too young to fully understand the meaning of life and death, seeing their elders in such grief caused them to burst into loud cries as well; a little boy's tears streamed freely down his Iron Face as he wiped them with his small, tender hands, asking with a tearful voice:

"Grandma, is Grandpa asleep? Why won't he wake up no matter how we call?"

A little girl hugged her mother's arm tightly, her eyes filled with fear and confusion, sobbing continuously.

The daughters-in-law also had faces streaked with tears, crying while comforting the children beside them.

Grief, thick like ink, echoed within the mourning hall, clinging to every inch of air, intertwining with the relatives' wails to weave a net of despair that tightly bound this patch of heaven and earth.

Just then, a formless power surged into the ice coffin.

After this power entered the dead old man's body, it spread instantly through his withered frame like a flash of lightning in the dark night.

His body began to tremble slightly, almost imperceptibly; shriveled blood vessels refilled, and blood flowed through him like a spring stream after the end of winter, carrying new vitality; that heart which had stopped beating burst forth with life as energy was injected, beginning to pound forcefully, declaring the return of life.

Although there was no change in appearance, this body that had exhausted its vital energy was rapidly reviving.

The old man's skin gradually regained its original luster, internal muscles became firm again, and bones were no longer fragile.

Gradually, the old man's breathing began to operate, becoming deep and powerful, his chest rising and falling with each breath.

The vitality converted from Sacrificial Power continued to circulate within the old man's body, as if time were reversing, erasing the traces of aging one by one.

The old man's body was no longer a shell about to decay; inner vitality had been renewed, crossing the boundary between life and death to stand once again at the starting point of life.

"Cough, cough..."

The sudden coughing sound instantly silenced the mourning hall.

Figures dressed in mourning robes turned to look at the figure inside the ice coffin, their expressions becoming dull as they watched the old man slowly open his confused eyes with disbelief.

The air seemed to solidify; time became incredibly slow at this moment; the old man's resurrection felt like a dream.

The eldest daughter, lying prostrate on the ice coffin, covered her mouth tightly with both hands; tears slid silently from the corners of her eyes, but she dared not make a sound, fearing to disturb this incredible moment, even feeling she might be experiencing an illusion.

The children behind her widened their eyes, their innocent faces filled with confusion, unable to comprehend everything happening before them.

A little girl gently tugged at her mother's hem and asked in a small voice:

"Has... has Grandpa come back?"

Her voice, trembling with childishness, caused the relatives who had come to mourn to fall into silence once again.

Just then, a startled shout from the dead old man broke the silence:

"Fat Fish, hurry up and let your Light Spirit Feather heal me; this beast's damage output is too high, I can't hold on, I think I'm going to die!"

After completing the resurrection, Qi Sheng paid no further attention.

At this moment, he issued the latest update notification to all players.

[Challenger Notification (All Channels): The game is about to update; this update adds: Hunting Experience Zones.]

Update Content: Hunting Experience Zones.

Function Introduction: After this update concludes, players opening the map will see hunting bonus halos; all players hunting within the halo range will receive an additional +10% bonus to their gains.

This update was precisely intended to connect the three regions, establishing external territories for the Player Legion in the Monster World.

At the current stage, the players' focus was on the Xie Yue Domain of the Colorful Mist Coast.

But under the secret consumption of the Earth Nian Bully, the yields of this Xie Yue Domain would soon Iron Face exhaustion.

At that time, the area covered by the halos on the map would become the Player Legion's primary hunting region.

Through monitoring, Qi Sheng discovered that the Earth Nian Evil Spirit shared the same idea as him.

The Earth Nian Bully had originally planned to expand outward starting from the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region.

But now, with players in front and the Insect Clan behind, the Earth Nian Evil Spirit had completely abandoned normal territorial expansion, switching instead to lateral expansion.

Viewing the Earth Nian Evil Spirit's development concept from the perspective of strategic safety, it was undoubtedly an extremely foolish decision.

Stretching the battle line meant an increased defensive burden.

A significant lateral extension of the border line also required investing more forces for defense.

At the current stage, the Earth Nian Bully possessed only one Evil Eye Tower; a laterally stretched border line required establishing more branch nodes to ensure rapid transmission of Black Black Tide energy and command signals.

Secondly, after stretching the battle line, the distribution of Black Black Tide energy would also become scattered.

But Qi Sheng could understand why the Earth Nian Evil Spirit made this choice.

The current Earth Nian Evil Spirit, trapped between the players and the insect race, cannot establish effective strategic depth for its territory; to continue developing, it can only stretch out to both sides, caught in a dilemma of being hard-pressed from front and back.

And for him to connect the three novice village regions, he also needs to expand horizontally.

It is foreseeable that as the Earth Nian bullies expand, the insect race behind them will also spread out horizontally, biting at the heels of the Earth Nian Evil Spirit's development.

The three factions in the novice village will henceforth form three parallel lines, initiating synchronized horizontal development.

Assuming no party falls behind or is destroyed midway during this horizontal expansion, these three territorial expansion lines will eventually pierce through the entire Pale Continent region.

But the players' advantage lies in developing from three separate regions.

There is no issue of being unable to expand because one region is restricted by hostile forces.

Colorful Mist Coast, east of the dense forest region.

After scrolling through the forum discussions about the update content for a long time, Lu Xing closed the forum interface, stuffed the nearly finished pastry in his hand into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

The hunting revenue boost zone outlined in the update was precisely the region he was currently exploring and expanding into.

"Let's go."

Ever since arriving in the Colorful Mist Coast region, he had been completely free.

It was as if he had suddenly leaped out of a bottomless swamp, his body instantly feeling lighter, having shed a burden of a thousand jin.

The air here was permeated with the scent of freedom, like a long-missed clear breeze dispersing the heavy gloom weighing on his heart.

The reason for this was simple: there were no cowardly butterflies here.

After the Colorful Mist Coast region opened, he had never returned to the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range region.

That place made him feel nauseous.

In the blink of an eye, a small mouse darted swiftly from nearby, climbed up his trouser leg, and settled on his right shoulder.

Squeak!

Taking a crushed biscuit from his spatial bag to feed the Treasure-Hunting Mouse, Lu Xing continued his exploration eastward.

The spiritual plants and monsters encountered along the way were all part of the records he kept during his journey.

Occasionally opening the livestream room, he found the comment section akin to a dance of demons and ghosts.

Ever since the livestream room connected to the official website of the real Monster World, a massive wave of tourists had flooded in, with danmu and comments popping up at a rate of several hundred per second.

Tourist: Why isn't the streamer raising the growth-type pet "Fat Peach"? Financial products are the ultimate truth; I don't understand how you play this game.

Tourist: I love your livestream the most; following you to appreciate the scenery of the Monster World is especially interesting. Once I obtain qualification for the Monster World, I will definitely tip you with Sacrificial Power.

Tourist: You idiot human streamer, why aren't you hunting monsters? Why are you running around everywhere? It's boring; switching to another livestream.

Tourist: The streamer is absolutely a breath of fresh air on the popularity charts. Apart from the group brawl times of the Liver Emperor Group, I love watching your livestream the most; it's great for eating along with, very atmospheric.

Aside from normal players watching livestreams while locked in the little black room for self-isolation, they spend the rest of their time exploring and hunting in the Monster World, so most danmu and comments are sent by tourists.

The livestream room becoming lively actually made him feel a greater sense of companionship during his journey.

The only problem was that the tourists asked far too many questions, which he simply couldn't answer one by one.

So he just stopped answering them altogether.

The happy journey continued.

The tree canopies overhead interwove into a green celestial curtain, sunlight filtering through the gaps to cast mottled shadows; the air here was filled with the fragrance of earth and the fresh scent of grass and trees, occasionally mingled with the faint aroma of wildflowers drifting by.

Lu Xing thoroughly enjoyed such an environment.

The ground beneath his feet was soft and moist; with every step, he could hear the gentle crunch of fallen leaves and withered branches breaking underfoot.

Vines nearby hung down from tree trunks like natural curtains, brushing lightly against his shoulders, while the sounds of insect chirps and bird calls echoed in his ears from time to time.

Occasionally, a gentle breeze would sweep past, making the leaves rustle softly, as if nature itself was whispering.

Arriving before a stream, the murmuring water sounded clear and pleasant to the ear.

Lying by the stream to drink his fill, the water was so clear one could see to the bottom, where several small fish swam about, stirring up ripples in circles.

Continuing forward, he passed through a dense thicket of bushes.

The tall trees gradually became sparse, replaced by an open clearing within the forest.

Sunlight poured down unobstructed; ahead, various wildflowers bloomed in full splendor, while colorful flying insects danced among the flower clusters.

Taking a deep breath of the air rich with dense fragrance, a look of intoxication appeared on Lu Xing's Iron Face.

At this moment, he only wished to recite a poem.

Alas, his cultural knowledge was limited, so he could only give up.

Just then, a black shadow suddenly swept across the sky, startling Lu Xing into looking up sharply.

Realizing it was a large flying bird and that its target was not him, Lu Xing immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then glanced at the livestream comments and said irritably:

"Are you sick? How could the Strange Butterfly possibly come here?"

Bang!

The sound of bones shattering from an impact instantly drew Lu Xing's attention.

Looking up, he saw the flying bird seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall; its wings twisted instantly, and feathers scattered in all directions.

Blood gushed from its beak and eyes, dyeing the surrounding air red.

Its body halted in mid-air, firmly grasped by an invisible force.

That invisible wall, now stained red with blood, began to writhe, slowly opening like some living creature.

The bird's flesh, blood, and feathers were sucked in bit by bit, as if swallowed into an invisible vortex, leaving only a faint mist of blood hovering in the air, which was then completely absorbed by that invisible barrier.

A faint scent of blood permeated the air, but soon, even that smell vanished without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Hiss~"

Witnessing such a bizarre scene, Lu Xing sucked in a cold breath.

Attempting to activate his analysis ability to scan it, a massive amount of information immediately floated into his mind.

[Wall of Blood Souls]:

Target Analysis: A blood sacrifice trap arranged by the descending faction, the Darkblood Clan. Inside sleeps a weakened Darkblood King, the sole survivor who escaped a brutal racial war. It holds the method to unlock the Darkblood resource wealth. In its final moments, it set up traps in this area, attempting to harvest life through the Wall of Blood Souls, devouring blood energy to complete its life reconstruction.

(Revival Requirement: 22374/3902485)

After reading the analysis information, Lu Xing immediately understood what had happened.

This was an invisible trap set by a powerful lifeform, designed to devour those who accidentally wandered in to acquire blood energy, ultimately achieving revival.

"Can't mess with this!"

Lu Xing decisively chose to detour.

Unlike normal players, he had absolutely no desire to explore such a situation that might hold an opportunity.

In comparison, he preferred ready-made treasures; taking excessive risks was out of the question.

Just then, the Treasure-Hunting Mouse on his shoulder began digging with its two front limbs on his shoulder, its head constantly nudging toward the Wall of Blood Souls.

"Too dangerous, not going."

Poking the Treasure-Hunting Mouse on the nose, Lu Xing's resolve to detour remained unshaken.

At this moment, the tourists watching this scene in the livestream room couldn't help but angrily rebuke Lu Xing for being overly cautious.

Having finally encountered a special event, yet choosing to retreat, was truly foolish.

Especially since the Treasure-Hunting Mouse had already reacted.

This proved there must be treasures inside the Wall of Blood Souls; regardless of whether they were valuable, one should at least explore it.

Even if there truly was nothing valuable, didn't the analysis information say that the sleeping Darkblood clan member possessed the code to wealth?

But to the group of veteran players in Lu Xing's livestream room, this seemed very calm and normal.

The streamer "Explorer's" cowardice was famous on the forum.

Several times, opportunities to get rich were actively given to other players; he was a very pure exploration-type player who would never change his mind for the sake of wealth.

But while Lu Xing had no thoughts of it, many players in the livestream room began to have ideas.

They recalled the Hall of Extreme Bliss that Explorer had discovered through puzzle-solving back then.

Players who departed early had harvested vast wealth inside the Hall of Extreme Bliss, while those who arrived late could only pick up the hard bones that were difficult to kill.

Facing a potential opportunity that might contain wealth, the players immediately became unsettled.

Many players immediately headed toward the "opportunity location" marked on the map, wanting to investigate the depths of the Wall of Blood Souls.

What appeared to be an extremely dangerous trap was, in the eyes of the players, a treasure land that might create wealth.

Three hours later, the first batch of players possessing flying mounts arrived.

Landing in the forest clearing, they began discussing how to explore inside.

Attempting to attack with skills, the attacks passed through the barrier without any obstruction.

After a brief moment of thought, a player in the team voluntarily approached the Wall of Blood Souls and reached out to touch it.

Instantly, the invisible barrier seemed to come to life, immediately sucking in the touching player; amidst the grimacing expressions of the other players, the touching player was rapidly devoured, blood gushing from within their body.

Finally, after life ceased, the blood and remaining limbs turned into mist and dissipated, their soul returning to Di Zhao.

Seeing that the scene inside the Wall of Blood Souls could not be explored through normal means, this plunged the first batch of arriving players into deep thought.

Just then, a player posted a screenshot of an analysis in the team channel:

"Eh, has this number changed? (Analysis Screenshot)"

[(Revival Requirement: 22558/3902485)]

The team players opened the screenshot, looked at the revival requirement number, and then compared it with the requirement number in Explorer's video clip.

Sure enough, they discovered the issue: after the Wall of Blood Souls devoured a teammate, the revival requirement value had changed.

After a brief silence, a player in the team exclaimed with delight:

"I get it! This is a special scene in the game that requires fulfilling conditions to open; we must enter inside through sacrifice."

"Yes, yes, yes! I've thought of it—it's like the Titan's Gate scene in the Land of Sin. You need to collect three keys, and can only enter during a rainstorm scene when your character's HP is below 10%. This Wall of Blood Souls is clearly a special-condition scene; we must meet the requirements to open it."

"Brilliant! Hurry and post the news on the forum, calling on everyone to come sacrifice. Little Feng's sacrifice only raised the Resurrection Requirement by less than 200 points; we'll need to sacrifice nearly twenty thousand players to open it. We need the power of the masses."

It wasn't long before these players sent their discovery to the forum.

[Explorer's Latest Discovery: Hidden Scene "Wall of Blood Souls"! Come get rich, everyone! First come, eat meat; latecomers, drink soup!]

OP: Evil of This World

Content: The Explorers have made a new discovery, brothers. Hurry over and get rich! This special scene requires sacrifice to open, so come quickly and lend a hand.

(Explorer Video Attachment) (Explorer Livestream Screenshot)

The title of this post was extremely attractive; veteran players knew that seeing the word "Explorer" meant a chance to get rich, and soon a massive number of players heeded the call and headed there.

At this moment, Qi Sheng, situated at the Primordial Sacrifice Altar, watched this scene with a mix of amusement and helplessness.

When the player Lu Xing discovered this special scene, he had already received guidance feedback and launched an investigation.

Delving his consciousness behind the Wall of Blood Souls, he discovered that a lifeform originally at Hunting Level 297 was sleeping within this scene.

The specific situation was not difficult to analyze.

The analysis information showed that a member of the Darkblood Clan had suffered severe injuries while fleeing and was on the verge of death.

To survive, it descended into a clearing within the dense forest east of the Colorful Mist Coast, arranged a sacrifice trap there, and then voluntarily entered a dormant state to slow the damage its injuries were inflicting on its body.

This resurrection plan was actually quite simple: use an invisible trap to devour any flesh-and-blood life that trespassed, nourishing the dormant Darkblood lifeform.

But the interesting part about this trap was that this dormant state could not wake up on its own.

Thus, the Darkblood member set a qi-and-blood devouring value sufficient for its own recovery, embedding it into the Wall of Blood Souls in the form of runes.

This was precisely the resurrection value displayed in the analysis information.

Every time a life was devoured, the corresponding qi-and-blood value would be detected, and the numerical value (rune) within the trap's program would change accordingly.

To Qi Sheng, this setup seemed very clever.

It was like an alarm clock that would forcibly activate the dormant Darkblood lifeform once the specified value was reached.

The problem, however, was that this trap had encountered players.

And the players had mistaken it for a hidden easter egg scene in the game that required special conditions to activate.

The result was that the rune digits calculating the devoured qi-and-blood value were jumping, but in reality, no qi-and-blood energy was being obtained at all.

After all, how could the devouring function of the Wall of Blood Souls trap compare to the supreme rules of the Four Gods? When players died, they were extracted by the hyper-dimensional extraction power and sent back to the Emperor Tomb Village space, including their spilled blood and severed limbs.

Thus, a situation akin to capital idling occurred.

The players actively rushed to their deaths and sacrificed themselves; it seemed as though qi and blood were constantly being absorbed and the rune values were jumping along with it, but in truth, not a shred of qi-and-blood energy was actually being taken in.

The alarm clock the Darkblood warrior had set for itself was being forcibly wound by the players, pushing it toward the activation state.

As time passed, a massive number of players rushed to the "special scene," the Wall of Blood Souls.

Some players loitered nearby, eagerly waiting for others to contribute their share toward unlocking the scene.

Others actively rushed to their deaths, sacrificing themselves to explore the new scene.

This was especially true for guild teams.

To build a good reputation within the player legions and attract more players to join their guilds, they organized groups to rush to their deaths and farm resurrection points.

Through the players' tireless efforts, the resurrection requirement value displayed in the analysis information climbed rapidly.

Meanwhile, inside the Wall of Blood Souls.

A humanoid figure lay in slumber, its body enveloped by a crystal coffin condensed from qi and blood.

The surface of the crystal coffin was carved with ancient runes emitting a dark red glow; inside, the Darkblood warrior's body was wrapped in a thick layer of blood-red energy like a mummy, resembling a statue frozen in time, lying quietly within.

Each time the Wall of Blood Souls calculated the qi-and-blood energy released by a dead player, the twisted runes on the blood-colored crystal coffin would jump and shift, emitting a low hum.

As time passed, the jumping runes gradually disintegrated.

The dark red energy constituting the crystal coffin flickered on and off; within the dormant Darkblood warrior, ripples stirred in its mental sea of consciousness, which had been as still as dead water.

Stimulated by the rune energy, its body trembled slightly, as if being awakened from a long dream.

Its fingers moved first; dark energy drifting from the fingertips swirled like smoke before spreading across the entire hand.

Immediately after, its chest began to heave slowly, as if relearning the rhythm of breathing. With each breath, the surrounding air trembled, and the energy forming the qi-and-blood crystal coffin disintegrated, transforming into dark red energy that was inhaled into the Darkblood warrior's body.

The qi-and-blood energy flowed within it, gradually converging at the position of its heart.

As energy continued to pour in, the Darkblood warrior suddenly opened its eyes; its pupils flashed with blood-red light, like two burning flames.

Crack! Crack!

Cracks on the blood-colored crystal coffin multiplied, emitting crisp sounds of shattering.

Like melting ice and snow, it was extracted and absorbed by the Darkblood warrior.

"Who... am I?"

The moment its consciousness awakened, a question surfaced in the Darkblood warrior's mind.

This question was like light piercing the darkness; sealed memories surged forth like a Black Tide.

In the memory visuals, the earth was torn into countless fragments; former prosperity and vitality were long gone, and the embers of war continued to burn.

The sky was shrouded in eternal gloom; the scorching sun's light could not penetrate the thick haze, and the boundary between day and night became blurred.

This was his homeland world.

A world utterly destroyed in the war against the Black Black Tide.

Huge, bottomless cracks covered the land.

From these cracks, black Black Tide energy, dark as ink, periodically surged forth, generating endless evil entities that devoured all life around them.

The once lush forests now consisted only of charred trunks, their branches twisted like the arms of the dying, pointing toward the sky.

The seas had dried up, exposing the seabed; the once vibrant world had become a war relic, liable to be devoured at any moment by the next wave of the Black Black Tide.

The entire world was like a shattered isolated island, drifting through space in the form of tectonic fragments.

City ruins were scattered across these tectonic fragments, leaving only broken walls and crumbling ramparts.

Resources exhausted, Black Black Tide corrosion and pollution... tentacles released by twisted corrosion cores danced across the land, accelerating the world's march toward destruction.

Storms of destruction, earthquakes, spatial collapses... various natural disasters occurred frequently.

This was a world utterly destroyed by the Black Black Tide, with resources exhausted and vitality withered, leaving only endless despair.

The visuals were gradually shrouded in darkness; in his memory, he looked back to see countless figures awaiting his arrival, with a twisted black hole ahead leading to an unknown world—the scene froze there.

Tears slid from the corner of the gradually awakening Darkblood warrior's eye.

He recalled the scene before his entire clan migrated.

Anger, unwillingness, despair... various emotions churned in the depths of his heart.

The memories continued to advance.

He had led the Darkblood Clan to descend upon a super-world known as the Monster World.

This world possessed resources and wealth beyond his imagination; here, he saw hope for revenge.

To establish a foothold in this world as quickly as possible.

Shortly after descending, he launched a devouring war against a nearby clan, devouring that clan to transform it into nutrients for his own growth and that of his clansmen.

Doing so required no reason; at that time, the Darkblood Clan urgently needed resources to develop.

And the most convenient growth model was plunder, acquiring through war the foundations other clans had accumulated over many years.

This war granted him and his clansmen growth beyond imagination.

The resources stored within the clan grounds of the plundered clan made him feel utterly incredulous.

He could not imagine that such a weak race would hide so much resource wealth.

At that moment, an absurd idea arose in his mind.

Perhaps the stage of this world was high, but the beings of this world seemed never to have unlocked the talent for war; their feeble abilities were utterly fragile.

Similar situations had been recorded in the Darkblood Clan's history books.

The Darkblood Clan itself had once been a plundering force spanning multiple worlds.

But during inter-world wars, they encountered stronger plundering forces they could not resist; ultimately, the Darkblood Legion fell apart, and they were descendants of one of those fleeing clans, entering a minor world to restart their development.

Therefore, the clan had recorded much information about greater worlds.

Among these records, one point was heavily emphasized.

The greatest differences between greater worlds and minor worlds lay in resource reserves, the speed of resource gestation, and the intensity of world rules.

But this did not mean that greater worlds possessed stronger military power.

The history books recorded that the Darkblood Legion had once plundered a greater world whose beings had never developed martial power, consuming all their resources on constructing a mental world.

In other words, that greater world had never experienced war, so it simply did not know how to fight.

That war completed the plunder and harvest in an incredibly easy manner.

From this, the Darkblood Legion concluded that the strength of a clan's war capabilities in different worlds had no absolute correlation with the strength of the world's stage they inhabited.

Greater worlds merely offered a better environment for developing combat power, but that did not mean the combat power level of that world was necessarily strong.

At this moment, discovering that a clan storing vast resources was so weak, he believed he had encountered a high-stage world with weak martial power.

This filled him with immense joy.

He felt that perhaps he could use this world as a springboard; the Darkblood Clan would grow strong enough to resist the Black Black Tide, and then, when that day arrived, they would return to their homeland world to exact revenge.

But he soon discovered he was wrong.

The memory fragments continued to piece together.

In the visuals, a tall war banner appeared, and countless terrifying figures descended from spatial tunnels.

The fierce war thus erupted.

Only then did he realize this was a race sheltered by a super-powerful clan.

Those they had slaughtered were merely a service-oriented race under this super-powerful faction.

This war showed him the terror of the super-world.

Countless warriors, bolstered by mysterious powers, formed battle formations; the blood and qi energy they released turned into towering waves, sweeping across the Dark-Blood Clan he led with an unstoppable, destructive force.

The figure at the forefront possessed a physique as massive as a mountain range, pushing horizontally across the battle line with a single hand, displaying an invincible posture.

Only then did he realize this world was far from as simple as he had imagined.

He could even sense these warriors growing in strength amidst the war.

A weak warrior's aura climbed at a speed visible to the naked eye as the battle line advanced; with every step forward, they grew stronger.

The Dark-Blood warriors he led turned to ash beneath the iron hooves of these warriors capable of growing through war.

The barrier constructed from the Dark-Blood power that he and his clansmen took pride in was easily shattered like gossamer before these terrifying war machines, offering no resistance whatsoever.

In the memory fragments, he had even witnessed with his own eyes a clan elder who had once faced the power of the Black Black Tide Commander vanish into nothingness under a single strike from the lead warrior of the war legion.

In that moment, fear surged in the depths of his heart.

The memory seemed to return to the time the Black Black Tide descended, filled with helplessness and despair.

In the end, with the aid of his clansmen, he tore through space and fled.

He saw the spatial tunnel constantly shrinking at its end, while his clansmen fell in droves, throwing themselves forward one after another to buy him time to escape.

These memory scenes haunted his mind like a nightmare, bringing endless fear.

The memory fragments in his sea of consciousness continued to piece together; he descended upon an unknown region, lying on the ground and barely clinging to life.

Before his consciousness blurred, he took out the "Blood Barrier" kept in his mouth, connected it to himself, and constructed a trap scenario.

Afterward, he fell into a long stage of dormancy.

"I am... An Sui... I must have revenge."

Memories returned; An Sui gradually awakened from his slumber.

An idea conceived before dormancy quickly took shape in his mind.

His clansmen were dead; he no longer had any misgivings.

All he needed to do was grow himself as much as possible, using the power of the Dark-Blood to devour and evolve.

Until he destroyed everything in this world, stood at the peak of this world, and then challenged the Black Black Tide once more.

Becoming a god in solitude—that was the goal left in his mind before dormancy.

Revival, devouring, destruction, slaughter... countless thoughts surged in his mind; boundless ambition forced him to awaken completely from his slumber.

But the intense sense of weakness that followed startled him.

This sensation left An Sui utterly confused, unable to understand why he was so weak.

Since the moment of revival had arrived, it proved the Wall of Blood Souls had absorbed enough blood and qi energy; this energy should have been sufficient to restore him to a state near his peak.

Crack!

Just then, a crisp sound of breaking rang out; the dark-red structure enveloping his body automatically shattered.

The Dark-Blood opened his eyes from the darkness.

Looking down at his body, he was shocked to discover he had actually transformed into the form of a four or five-year-old child.

"How is this possible?!"

Just then, the sound of shattering rang out again.

The thin outer layer of the dark-red crystal coffin was violently broken; a huge hand loomed large before his eyes, pinching his neck and yanking him up.

Blinding light from the outside struck; An Sui instinctively squinted.

Once the blurry halo before his eyes dispersed, he looked around and was surprised to find countless greedy eyes staring fixedly at him.

Perceiving through fluctuations of blood and qi, he could tell these lifeforms were extremely weak.

"Hey, where is the Dark-Blood Clan's wealth? Take us brothers there quickly."

A head leaned in at that moment, speaking to him with a threatening tone.

While feeling disbelief, surging rage rose in An Sui's heart:

"Ants, seeking death!"

He was about to mobilize his power to kill all the lifeforms nearby, but the intense sense of weakness struck again.

He discovered he simply could not manipulate the power originally within his body.

An unbelievable thought subsequently floated into his mind.

He had not recovered to his peak state at all; this was also the reason he retained only the form of a child after revival.

The revival plan had failed!

"Oh ho, your Hunting Rank is only 32, yet you dare speak so tough? If one didn't know better, they'd think you were some big shot with a Hunting Rank over 100."

The speaking figure first showed surprise, then raised his right hand, slightly curling his index finger like a taut bow, aiming it at An Sui's lower body.

His eyes narrowed slightly; his finger paused in the air for an instant, as if aiming at a certain target.

Snap!

Accompanied by a crisp sound, pain struck; An Sui's eyes instantly went dull.

"Careful, or I'll cripple this thing of yours. Confess truthfully: where is the Dark-Blood Clan's wealth hidden!"

(End of Chapter)